Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in Wolf Lahti's LiveJournal:

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Monday, November 16th, 2009
1:37 pm	Whoosh! and leftovers to be Big wind storm last night tore some roofing off the barn shed, though the house roof shingles appear to have remained intact. I have to smirk at the weather report for Seattle, warning of "gusts up to 24 miles per hour". Horrors! Ours were closer to 70. The entire atmosphere gets channeled down a wide glacial valley from the Cascades through the foothills and is aimed right at the house. I went out in the middle of it to check on things (such as that window in the workshop that tends to get blown out) and, well, because I like a good storm--all those good-for-you negative ions and stuff. The wolf-dog loved it too, gamboling and racing around. The power flickered, so I shut down all the computers, but we never actually lost power. That's rare out here; because the wind does get so worked up, the power lines are extra-heavy duty or something. Having our turkey dinner this evening. There's a stuffed 19-lb bird in the oven, deviled eggs in the fridge, with fixin's for garlic mashed potatoes and some green-bean thing yet to be alchemized. (Carol doesn't like spice the way I do, so of the twenty-four eggs I made, eight are mildly tame, eight are dosed with a smoky Szechuan sauce, and eight have the Szechuan and and dollop of sriracha. Those are the dangerous ones!) There is off, course, also a pie. The pumpkin I'll make later; tonight's is a Marie Callender Razzleberry. (Comment on this)
Friday, November 13th, 2009
8:26 am	Civilized resistance So, strikes in Finland are conducted with an ending date and time? In the US, they generally just go on and on until one side or the other caves in - or the courts order that the workers must go back to their jobs. And the latter scenario is as often as not ignored. (Comment on this)
12:40 am	Windows XP, the sequel (aka Help!) When I originally installed XP on my iMac, I went with the default partition of 32 gigs, which it turns out is way too small if one wants to even attempt to run Dungeons and Dragons Online. So I decided to bite the bullet and repartition my hard drive and re-install the damned thing. I have faithfully and semi-regularly been backing up my Mac stuff to an external hard drive using SuperDuper, a fine and simple-to-use program that creates a bootable copy (unlike Apple's own much-touted Time Machine). However, I have no simple way (that I know of, anyway) to back up the Windows partition. There wasn't a lot on it--the Orange Box and a few other games, so I figured I'd just slog through that grit and all the endless updates and consider it credit against any time I might spend in Purgatory. Well, I spent the entire day trying to get this to work, with endless reboots and repartitions and reformattings and copyings and erasings, trying to figure out why Boot Camp Assistant would not run. To make a very long story very short, I finally figured out that when I restored my backup, it was reconfiguring the format of the main drive in a manner that Boot Camp Assistant did not like. It turns out that I had somehow formatted my backup drive to a non-journaled HFS+ system (whatever that means), and when it restored to the main drive, the main drive--which I had properly configured as journaled--then became non-journaled. Of course, the error message ("Boot Camp requires that you update your system") was no help whatsoever in diagnosing the problem. Having finally worked that out, Boot Camp Assistant started up without a hint of complaint (finally!), and I began the arduous process of installing Windows XP. (What the heck is it doing to make it take 45 minutes just to format the partition?!) That was straightforward enough, albeit long and boring and tedious. However (You knew this was coming, didn't you?), I cannot get Windows to believe I have an Internet connection, and I can't find any way to set a start-up disk. (Boot Camp is apparently not there.) I suspect the drivers and utilities I need are yet to be installed--in fact Boot Camp Assistant says, "After you have installed and set up Windows, insert your Mac OS X install disc to install additional drivers and other software for Windows." Inserting the disc, however, just gives me the option to re-install OS X; I can't find anything about adding more stuff to get Windows to work. This worked fine when I did it before, but I don't remember what I did then (and I don't remember having anywhere near this much trouble). (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Sunday, November 8th, 2009
8:26 pm	Escape beneath the Wall Looking for a Young Adult book about a boy escaping from East Berlin, probably written in the early sixties. I thought it was titled simply The Wall, but that has turned up nothing. Early in the story, the boy's mother dies. (He returns to his home one day to find her lying cold on the sofa, I think.) I don't remember the father being in the picture at all, though the way the story goes, he is/was probably someone important. The boy finds a spot where he digs a hole under the wall at night with the help of a small dog; pretty sure it was a dachshund. I remember some guards coming near and one of them lighting a cigarette, and "the match flared as bright as a headlight". At least, I'm pretty sure that phrase was in this book. :) Once he's made it to the other side, he finds a home with a couple who care for him (possibly relatives)--but it turns out he is not safe, as he is being trailed by the KGB who want to capture him and return him to the East. I really want to read this again, as it is the obvious source of a recurring dream I have of escape and pursuit. (Comment on this)
Monday, November 2nd, 2009
6:48 pm	And teh winnah iz... I'd only recently heard about the Finnish-produced Star Wreck (a parody of far more than just the Star Trek series, I am told), and I just found out (literally mere minutes ago) that I won the Imperial Edition DVD in a contest I only barely remember entering. It's in Finnish, with subtitles in various languages, including Klingon. :) Apparently, it's also dubbed in Japanese, which I expect to be a bit surreal. Judging from the brief trailer, production values (at least the CGI) are pretty good, though the acting looks frightening. A review will be forthcoming once I've seen it. There is even a Star Wreck role-playing game. How did I not know about this? (Comment on this)
Thursday, October 29th, 2009
6:11 pm	Wire-fu I can think of no logical reason wireless keyboards come without the number keypad. I rely heavily on that and feel personally snubbed by designers who seem to think that folks who want wireless should go without it. Never mind that I really don't care much for wireless doo-hickeys. There are far too many RF waves in the ether as it is. (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, October 27th, 2009
3:34 pm	Hmmm. Nathan Fillion as Ralph Hinkley in a remake of The Greatest American Hero? It could be great, it could be awful. Either way, I will be so disappointed if it doesn't happen! But who are they gonna get to play Bill Maxwell? (Comment on this)
Friday, October 23rd, 2009
2:22 pm	I wish I were making this up In order to promote the release of Windows 7, Microsoft has teamed up with Burger King in Japan. For seven days, the burger franchise there is offering a 1.75-lb, seven-layer burger with a heart-stopping 2120 calories. That is as many calories as most people should consume in one day, not one sandwich. Things like this make me even more glad I have a Mac. (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, October 14th, 2009
5:56 pm	Resurrection accomplished Yesterday morning, Carol discovered that the hard drive in her circa-2005 iMac had died, as evinced by the dreaded 'click of death'. We ran diagnostics from the install CD that said everything was fine, but what was fine were only those things the diagnostic routines could test--it couldn't even find the hard drive at that point. Odd that it didn't seem to think that was a problem. :P We debated buying a new computer (for me, and giving Carol my current one), but finances made that unrealistic, and we finally opted for installing a new hard drive, even though her computer is at least four years old. Swapping drives in earlier iMacs is a simple matter of removing some screws and lifting off the back. Carol's beast, however--what is known as an iSight iMac--was not designed with access in mind. The first step is removing the front bezel, which is secured by some weird interlocking projections. Once that is off, you have to carefully peel back a conductive tape that secures the LCD screen on three sides; it actually seals the innards. This exposes four deeply recessed Torx screws that my current tool set could not reach, so I went to a big-box store this morning to find something to address that issue--along with picking up a 320-gig drive from the local Best Buy for $70. (Interweb prices and shipping made it about a wash.) Once I finally exposed the hard drive, it took a bit of puzzling to see just how it was fastened in place. It looked as though only two of the four screws securing its cradle to the chassis were accessible without removing the graphics card and portions of the logic board (and lots and lots of tiny wires connecting them all together), which would have been a major undertaking, probably resulting in my destroying the computer. I finally figured out that the two inaccessible 'screws' were actually just projecting studs, and that once the first two were removed, the drive just slid out of place. Ingenious, that. I installed the new drive, put the computer back together, crossed my fingers, and booted into the Disk Repair utility from the CD to do a drive wipe/format and then an OS install. Success! Nothing exploded, and everything now appears to run just fine. So I have been able to reclaim my computer from Carol's obsessive World of Warcrafting. (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Saturday, October 10th, 2009
5:52 pm	Lamenting lack of All Hallows Eve celebrations It's that season again, and I haven't been to a Hallowe'en party in years. Heck, the last time I bobbed for apples was over three decades ago. I'd happily host one, but I know that if I did, no one would show up. Community Hallowe'en parties are okay, I guess, but there's no reason to hang around after eating a few bad-for-you treats because you don't know anyone there. (The same goes for New Year's Eve parties. Don't know anyone? Guess it's time to leave.) Ah, well. (Comment on this)
Sunday, October 4th, 2009
9:57 pm	X-men Origins: Wolverine - a review Based on pretty universally mediocre to bad reviews, I had very low expectations going into this one--yet Wolverine still managed to go well below them. To list all the things wrong with this flick would take as many pages as War and Peace, but it mostly comes down to terrible writing. Rewriting history always leaves a bad taste, but this was a particularly inept attempt at it. Even that bomb Van Helsing was less a waste of Hugh Jackman's talents than was this forgettable mishmash of pointless fight scenes and aborted attempts at jerking the viewer's heartstrings. (Note to writers/directors: In order to manipulate the emotions of your viewers, you must make them care about your characters.*) Much to dislike, little to like. (The portrayal of Gambit was one of the likeable parts, but he had no real bearing on the story.) Mostly, the experience was simply boring. As Carol put it, "There was not nearly enough naked Hugh Jackman to make it worthwhile." *Ask Joss Whedon how he does it. Give the man 30 seconds, and he can make you weep over a dead cockroach. (Comment on this)
Thursday, October 1st, 2009
6:51 pm	This landfill is my landfill To Kroger, Safeway, QFC, Top Foods, and every other grocery chain in the US: In light of what I see as a growing trend in grocery bagging, I have to ask-- Do your cashiers get paid by the bag? Over the past decade, I have noted an alarming upward trend in the number of bags it takes to contain a given amount of groceries. On my most-recent shopping trip, the clerk somehow felt justified in putting each of the following into their own separate bags: a carton of eggs two tubes of toothpaste and a can of cleanser a bag of potato chips two loaves of bread four packages of Jell-O two half-gallon cartons of milk These and the rest of my groceries were put into a total of twelve shopping bags. And this was not a large haul; I could easily carry all of it in a single trip from the car to the house. When I got them into the kitchen, I took them out and repacked them according to what used to be standard bagging procedure and fit them easily into four bags, one of which was not completely full. I understand the need to keep some items separate from consumables, calling for an extra bag, but that is not the mechanism at work here. This conspicuous waste, repeated with each of the thousands and millions of shoppers in the course of a year, year after year, is nothing short of criminal. (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Sunday, September 20th, 2009
5:57 pm	Rover redux Patrick McGoohan may be gone, but The Prisoner lives on. Or again. Something. When I first heard about this, I had my doubts, but my expectations were raised several notches when I heard that James Caviezel and Ian McKellen are slated for the starring roles - Number 6 and Number 2, respectively. And McKellen will last for the run, unlike in the original series, which swapped out Number 2s every week. It will be a six-episode mini-series on AMC, due out November. (Six episodes. Get it?) The set for the Village will not be the Italianate Hotel Portmeirion (Penrhyndeudraeth, Wales) that was used in the original series but rather Swakopmund, Namibia. And in other ways, the new mini-series does not have the flavor of the original, which will no doubt upset some people--but I think it for the best. The style of the original Prisoner was appropriate for another age; the "serious camp" that worked so well in the seventies would not pass muster with today's sensibilities. And any attempt at producing a clone would all but demand direct comparison, and I can't imagine anyone able to pull it off. 2: "You refuse to open your mind to the possibility that you're wrong!" 6: "If I open my mind, you'll take it away from me." 2 [nodding]: "We might. But we will always give it back." It's metaphorical, it's psychological, and it looks to have a killer script. I'm looking forward to it. Be seeing you. (Comment on this)
Thursday, September 17th, 2009
7:41 am	Overburdened by anaolgy There’s been a discussion about bad writing, specifically Dan Brown’s, on John Crowley’s LiveJournal, to which I contributed a couple of undeveloped comments. The argument largely pivots on the notion that there is a place for bad writers as well as good ones, a notion I am uncomfortable with. The answer came to me as my consciousness climbed out of bed this morning: Good writing is invisible. Two quotations illustrate this well-- If I notice the temperature of a room, then the thermostat is not set right. If it’s too warm or too cool, it’s noticeable and is distracting, and I won’t be able to fully enjoy whatever else is going on in the room. Such it is with words. If you don’t notice the words, but see only the story, then you’ve done it right. If it’s too flowery or too choppy or has grammar problems, then the words will distract you away from the story. [misc.writing, 30 January 1999] --Darvell Hunt That is the irony of this self-absorbed profession: The goal finally is to vanish. [Writer’s Magazine, September? 1998] --Julia Alvarez Good writing is invisible. It should not call attention to itself either by being too florid or overworked or pretentious or by bumbling along so ineptly that those who care about finesse and grammar must keep a vomit bag nearby while reading. When you notice the writing because it is overly styled or has no style at all, then the writer has failed at his primary task, which is to tell a story. A good movie soundtrack carries the viewer’s emotions along and supports the experience of the film in an almost subliminal manner. When you become aware of the music (or the choice of lighting or camera angles or pacing), you lose the story. There is clearly a call for both the well-manicured and detailed oil painting and the pencil sketch, but the former should not be overly fussy nor the latter too rough. We want and need challenging texts as well as rollicking fun tales, but they can (and should) both be well written. I am saddened that the publishing industry is so market driven that it is necessary to foist on the reading public unedited rough drafts--and I am saddened more that the majority of people appear to neither notice nor care. (Comment on this)
Wednesday, September 9th, 2009
10:45 am	Just another number 09-09-09 (Comment on this)
Tuesday, September 8th, 2009
5:48 pm	John Denver completely loses it! Scene from The Muppet Show, episode 401 - John Denver and Miss Piggy Gawds, but I love this scene! Come to think of it, Miss Piggy loses it too. :) (1 Comment |Comment on this)
12:47 pm	Yanked off the rec.woodworking newsgroup Zanasi <luigirecnorm@gmail.com> wrote: Here are the main arguments for both sides of the debate: PRO IMPERIAL: There is absolutely no question; traditional imperial measurements are far superior for woodworking. Most wreckers use it for very good reasons: PRO METRIC: There is absolutely no question; metric measurements are far superior for woodworking. Most woodworkers in the world use it for very good reasons: Intuitiveness: 1. Imperial is much more intuitive and natural. Feet and inches (thumbs) have been used throughout human history as they are related to human body parts (fingers and feet). As Michelangelo said: man is the measure of all things. 1. Metric is much more intuitive and natural. Humans always use a base 10 system as it is related to human body parts (number of fingers & toes). As Michelangelo said: man is the measure of all things. Communicating measurements: 2. Imperial is easier to hear and leads to less confusion. Someone calls out a measurement for a piece of wood, & before you notice it, you cut 10mm instead of 10cm. 2. Metric is easier to hear and leads to less confusion. Quickly now, is 19/32" bigger or smaller than 5/8"? On the other hand, it is immediately obvious that 15mm is smaller than 16mm. Ease of learning: 3. Imperial measurements are easier to learn. You don't have to memorize all those crazy prefixes: femto, nano, micro, milli, centi, deci, deka, hecto, kilo, mega, myria, giga, etc. 3. Metric measurements are easier to learn. You don't have to remember all those crazy measures like inches, hands, feet, cubits, yards, fathoms, rods, cones, chains, furlongs, cables, miles, etc. Arithmetic: 4. Imperial uses simple fractional arithmetic which we all learned in grade school. Not like metric where you need to know all those prefixes and can easily make a mistake on your calculator & cut something 10 times too big or 10 times too small. 4. Metric uses simple decimal arithmetic where you can use your calculator directly without springing big bucks for one that calculates inches and fractions. Division: 5. It's a lot easier to divide stuff in imperial measurements. What do you call half a millimeter? Ever try to divide 304.8mm by four? A foot is real easy - 12" divided by four is 3". 5. It's a lot easier to divide stuff in metric measurements. Ever try to divide 39 9/16 inches by four? While 1000mm divided by four readily gives 250mm. Accuracy: 6. Imperial is more accurate. You can easily go to 1/32 which is more precise than 1mm. 6. Metric is more accurate. You can easily go to 0.5mm which is more precise than 1/32" The REAL Reason: 7. Metric is a stupid cowardly French system. You don't want to support those smelly unwashed arrogant ingrates, do you? GOD BLESS AMERICA! 7. Inches and feet are a stupid warmongering American imperialist system. The rest of the world and all scientists use the much more rational metric system. It's about time the US gets into the 19th century, never mind the 21st! VIVE LA FRANCE! And then there is metricmap.jpg. (Comment on this)
Monday, September 7th, 2009
10:33 pm	Game Over I transferred most of my money in all my accounts to Carol’s characters, and, since WoW is going to be down several hours tomorrow for server maintenance, this is it for me. The world (of warcraft) ends not in fire and ice but with a whimper and a sigh. How can such a boring game have at the same time been so addictive? (Comment on this)
Friday, September 4th, 2009
11:18 pm	Writer's Block: My Must-Have Computer Accessories What computer accessories and peripherals can't you live without? Sponsored by WePC.com. Help us make your Dream PC a reality. View 257 Answers I would live better and more fully if I didn't have a god-damned computer. (Comment on this)
9:25 pm	Searching for Bobby Fischer The only thing I've found that won't run under Snow Leopard (yes, my copy finally arrived yesterday) was GnuChess, which was a big disappointment, as I'd finally managed to tweak it to the point where it offered me a real challenge but one I could still beat. I wasted a lot of time trying to find a replacement, but the Gnu site has always been incomprehensible to me, and even when I do find something to download that I think might be usable, it turns out to be a bunch of files that need to be compiled (by something) and that does not have a graphical interface. The Gnu people talk glibbly about adding a graphical front end, as if it were something the clerk at the grocery store help you with. Me, I haven't a clue. Then I realized GnuChess comes with the operating system. It's in the Applications folder and called simply "Chess". My duh moment. Ah well. (Comment on this)